Introducing The Lochmore Legacy: A New Historical Romance Miniseries

The Lochmore Legacy

The bitter feud between the Lochmore and the McCrieff clans is the stuff of legend. And Lochmore Castle has been witness to it all.

The battles, the betrayals, the weddings, the wild passions.

But with the arrival of a new owner to Lochmore, the secrets buried deep in the castle are about to be revealed through four romances, as we fall back in time through the Victorian, Regency, Tudor and Medieval eras…

Janice Preston, His Convenient Highland Wedding – April

The Lochmore Legacy is a series of four linked books, each one written by a different author and, as you would expect, each book is a standalone romance. Unusually, though, each book is set in a different time period, with the link between them being the Highland setting—Lochmore Castle, which is built on a rocky promontory on a fictional stretch of the west coast of Scotland—two neighboring clans—the Lochmores and the McCrieffs—the feud that has simmered between them for centuries and a mystery that demands to be solved.

The series has been exciting to write, not only for the opportunity to share a story journey with friends and fellow authors but also because the four stories slowly reveal the answers to that mystery.

The series opens in Victorian times, when a brooch is discovered in strange circumstances—in a twist—each unforgettable romance reveals a little more of that brooch’s secret past as the reader travels back in time through the Regency and Tudor eras to Medieval Scotland, where the truth is finally revealed.

Lara Temple, Unlaced by the Highland Duke – May

One of the fun challenges of writing a book is world-building. But how do you build a world when not only four authors but also four eras are involved? We had to work together to create a Highland setting and a castle that would live and breathe for all of us even as it changed over time. A medieval castle is very different from a castle renovated during the Victorian era.

In every one of our stories there were elements that were more important. Sometimes it was the crypt, or a sea gate leading down to the beach. Sometimes it was the ballroom or the gardens.

We shared pictures and sketches, talked staircases and seascapes. One of us took a road trip through the Highlands and another drew a marvellous architectural map. And all of us dreamed we were there at Lochmore Castle, watching our wonderful tales unfold.

We hope the wonderful world of The Lochmore Legacy we created together shines through in our stories.

Elisabeth Hobbes, A Runaway Bride for the Highlander – June

Writing can be a lonely process: one person cranking out words to bring other people to life. What readers might not realize is just how sociable it can actually be. Real friendships are forged in chatrooms and Facebook groups, such as The Unlaced Historical Romance Group, where we all originally came together as authors to share our love of historical romance.

As well as organizations such as The Romantic Novelists’ Association, in which writers can meet other writers, there is a vast online community, and romance writers are a very supportive bunch. Every day online there are dozens of examples of women from different backgrounds supporting and praising each other, working together to fix plot holes, share knowledge, unearth facts—and of course provide pictures for hero inspiration.

Nicole Locke, Secrets of a Highland Warrior – July

But we wanted more than grand settings to entwine the stories! We looked beyond the mystery and the clans by delving into the heart of the characters. There were two red-headed heroines, Flora and Ailsa, and we loved using the colour orange—reflective of their hair—to bind the stories. We also looked to the brooch and made it more personable, with a clasp that was stiff. Then there was the word ‘always’. It wasn’t enough for us that there was a happily-ever-after in each book. We wanted love to resonate across the centuries. To be for ‘always’.

The four authors of The Lochmore Legacy are separated by continents, but the bond we have formed is as strong as any in real life, and if readers enjoy discovering the series as much as we enjoyed writing it that is testament to the power of female friendship.

So I’m totally digging the “Mini Series” idea, I need a Highlander fix anyway, so I’ll be into this one as soon as I can be. Currently reading An Improbable Pairing by Gary Dickson, garydickson.us. It’s been amazing so far, in Paris in the 1960’s with a for the most part forbidden affair, really good read!

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